Savvy Saturday August 31, 2013

A person who is quietly confident makes the best leader.

– Fred Wilson, Co-Founder, Union Square Ventures

Visual Business Inspiration

When life gives you lemons….make lemonade.

The biggest factor in entrepreneurial success is…

BELIEF.

Entrepreneurs naturally have a strong belief in their business idea and how they will make an impact on the world; they are driven to find solutions to the problems (inefficiencies, conveniences, why can’t it work this way?) around them. But it’s only when that belief is translated into action and into a product or service that we can use does it become real and successful.

The biggest factor in entrepreneurial success is belief. Of course there are ways – quantitative and qualitative – to predict failure or success of new business ideas but it is belief behind the idea and behind the entrepreneur that gets the idea noticed, funded and adopted by society.

Business plans identify and describe the opportunity and talent behind an idea but it is belief that brings entrepreneurs, investors and market together.

Making the idea work = belief.

Get funded = belief.

Get noticed = belief.

Be successful = belief.

Savvy Saturday August 24, 2013

“Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.”

– Oprah Winfrey

Branded Content and the Importance of Writers

I grew up in a family where reading and writing – and communicating – was cherished and promoted. We had a family room lined with bookshelves and we did not own a television when I was growing up. Language, literature and learning were instilled in us from an early age.

So I am biased towards good writing. Despite the trend towards digital and real time content, there is still a growing need for great writers. Great writers can articulate your brand’s beliefs in a product, service and in the brand itself. That’s the connection between branded content – defined as any form of content that carries a brand’s logo, message and / or values – and writing. Good writing = good branded content. Great writing = great branded content.

“We swim in language as fish swim in the sea, not noticing the power that our words have to manifest, to create and to destroy.” This is a quote by Mary Jo Asmus in a recent blog on the “word” in Smart Blog on Leadership.

Why do we need great writers? Because they are integral in building our brand and our following.

On a final note, here is a good article by Dave Kerpen (CEO Likeable Local – Likeable Media) that he published on LinkedIn this past week where he talks about how to become a better writer – and be taken more seriously.

Enjoy the weekend! EMC

Visual Business Inspiration – Sunshine

Savvy Saturday August 17, 2013

“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.”

— Lao Tzu

Latin American Media and Consumer Trends

I came across a great latin american trending site that I wanted to share. I found the following article – The 7 Hottest Products Among Latin American Shoppers – very interesting.

Due to my own professional – and personal – biases, I am glad to see travel and luxury goods on the list.

Latin America is such a diversity-rich place that trends like this speak to general tendancies in the region but, as in life itself, there are always wonderful exceptions to the rule!

Visual Business Inspiration

They say a picture says a thousand words. I’m going to start posting some great shots here on my blog with the aim of telling a story with a picture. I think business has a reputation for always being about numbers and words. Telling a story – whether it’s a great brand or a great book – always needs some visualization. Here is my first in what I hope to be a weekly post on visual inspiration for business.

Photo: Social Media is One Big Cocktail Party

Savvy Saturday August 10, 2013

Today’s savvy quote comes from Peter Drucker in a paper published in Harvard Business Review in 1989.

“People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete – the things that should have worked but did not, the things that once were productive and no longer are.”

What can we do about this? While change is inevitable, it’s important to understand that there are always attachments to the past in any organization – whether it be a business, a community, a family etc. There’s nothing wrong with having a history but the important thing is not to let history be an excuse for not changing or embracing new and innovative ways of doing things. Innovation is about unexpected connections between things – the past is always present. We don’t have to lose the past in order to progress but we need to reframe/reinvent/reconquer our notions about the past.

Happy Weekend everyone! E.M.C.